"Oh Gabriella," Walter said in a singsong voice, tiptoeing into the apartment. He saw the sofa bed and a lump buried underneath the blankets. "Good morning, sweetie," he cooed as he pulled the covers down.

"AAHHH!" cried Troy.

"Who the hell are you?" Walter asked in rage.

Troy chuckled nervously, "Y-You m-must…b-b-be…W-Walter." he chortled.

Walter raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"Uh…I'm Troy…Troy Bolton."

"So, Troy Bolton, can I ask what you are doing in my girlfriend's house?!" Walter steamed furiously.

"It's a funny story actually—"

"Shut up, Bolton! Tell me why you are here!" Walter snapped.

Gabriella quickly shuffled out of her bedroom; she had been awoken by Walter's loud bursts. "Walter! Hey, how you doing babe?" she asked uncomfortably.

"I'm fine, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE A STRANGER SLEEPING IN YOUR LIVING ROOM!" the man fumed. Troy bit his lip nervously; Walter did not seem like the kind of guy you'd want to get angry.

"You see, Walter, this man—Troy Bolton—is…Alexis's f-father." Gabriella stammered. She could hardly get the words out.

"So you're saying that this is Alexis's long lost daddy?" Walter pointed at Troy, who was almost hiding under the covers.

How can Gabriella deal with this scary man everyday? Troy thought, shivering. Gabriella nodded in response to Walter's question.

Walter scoffed, "Some father…leaving you behind."

"Walter, Troy did not leave me! You see, when I moved to Alabama, I didn't know I was pregnant. I was too scared to tell Troy, so he never knew until now." she explained.

"Oh," Walter puffed. His angry eyes trained on Troy's fearful ones. "I'm not so comfortable with this Bolton guy staying with you."

"Please, Walter," Gabriella begged, "He's only staying so he can get to know Alexis a little better. That's all, okay?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

"Oh, alright," Walter rolled his eyes hesitantly. He pointed a firm finger at Troy. "If you make a move on her…" He didn't finish his sentence and instead pulled up his sleeve, revealing his intimidating fist.

Troy whimpered. How does Gabriella get the nerve to talk to this dude?

"Do you understand?" Walter asked.

"Uh-huh," Troy winced. Walter looked sternly at him and left. "How can you live with this dude?" Troy asked after Walter left.

"Well, he's usually a sweet guy, but you do not want to get him angry." Gabriella informed him.

Troy spat, "I can see that. My dad isn't the kind of guy to get angry, either."

Gabriella's eyes widened, "Uh-oh," she muttered.

"What?"

"Troy, does your dad even know I'm back?" she asked.

"No, I haven't talked to him in about two weeks. Wait till he hears about Alex—" Troy stopped and mumbled, "Oh."

Gabriella sighed, "How do you think he's going to take it?"

Troy shrugged, "Not so well."

"Baby, you look so cute!" squealed Gabriella, brushing a streak of hair from Alexis's face. She was dressed in an overall dress with a white frilly blouse underneath. Gabriella had dressed Alexis's feet in white socks with pink lace hems and pink crocs. Her hair was pulled into two neat pigtails. "Okay, are you ready to meet Grandpa?"

"Gwampa!" Alexis shrieked, throwing her hands up in the air.

Gabriella chuckled, "Alright," She took Alexis off the counter and set her on the floor.

Alexis treaded towards the door and banged on it. "I go now!"

"No, no, wait for Daddy," Gabriella ordered.

Alexis let out a heavy sigh, "Okey dokey!"

"Gabriella, do I have to tell my dad?" Troy questioned as he exited the bathroom.

Gabriella's dark pupils zeroed in on Troy's attire. She couldn't deny, he did look pretty hot. "Yes, Troy," she demanded. "You might as well get it over with."

"Can't we just keep it a secret? I mean, my dad can go through life without knowing about his granddaughter, right?"

"Troy, just tell him." Gabriella pushed him out the door and waved. She quickly shut the door. Soon after, Troy came pounding on the door. "What?" Gabriella steamed.

"I forgot something," he explained, pointing to something behind Gabriella. Gabriella turned around to see Alexis standing right behind her.

"Oh, right," she mumbled, embarrassed. "Here you go," she said as she handed the little girl over to her father.

"Okay, are you ready to meet your grandpa?" Troy whispered.

"Why we whisper, Daddy?" Alexis asked.

"Because it's a surprise," Troy informed.

"Oh," replied Alexis. "I love surprises!" she yelled. Troy covered her mouth as Jack Bolton opened the door.

"Troy, what a surprise! I haven't seen you in ages! Come on in," his dad greeted warmly.

"Uh, hi Dad!" Troy laughed nervously. "There's someone I want you to meet."

"Oh, who is this?" inquired Jack, bending down to Alexis's level. "Hi sweetie, what's your name?"

Alexis hid behind Troy's leg. "Alexis," she stated quietly.

"Hi Alexis!" Jack cried cheerfully. "Who is Alexis, Troy?"

"Um, she's Gabriella's daughter." answered Troy.

"Oh, she looks just like her!" Jack commented.

Alexis finally spoke up, "Mommy says I just like Daddy, too."

Jack smiled, "Oh, you look just like—" Jack stopped mid-sentence and glared at his son. "And who is her father, Troy?"

Troy cleared his throat, "Uh…me," he said dryly.

"For a second there I thought you said that you were the father," Jack laughed out loud.

"Oh! Ha ha—I d-did say that, Dad."

Jack stopped cackling and sternly folded his buff arms. "You're the father Troy?" Troy bit his bottom lip and nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?!" he raged.

"I didn't know!" cried Troy.

"What do you mean you didn't know?" His father shot back.

"I didn't know that I had a daughter until now! When Gabriella moved to Alabama she didn't know that she was pregnant, honest! Then, she moved back with her two year old daughter, who just so happens to be mine too!" Troy explained.

"Gabriella kept this from you for two years?!" Jack asked, tapping his angry foot.

"Yeah," answered Troy. "Do you remember when she stopped talking to me? That's when she was hiding it from me!"

"What a selfish thing to do! She should've told you about this a long time ago! You deserve to know that you have a daughter!" yelled an enraged Jack.

"Dad, it's not her—"

"Gabriella should have told you in the first place. Wait till I—" Jack was interrupted by Troy.

"Dad, it's not her fault! I mean, we were only sixteen at the time. Don't you think Mom would've been scared to tell you that she was pregnant that young?" asked Troy.

"That's not the point, Troy, Your mother was twenty-five when she was pregnant with you, not sixteen!"

"Dad, listen to me! Gabriella didn't want to tell me because she was afraid that I would reject her and not love her anymore. She was afraid I would shut her out of my life and never talk to her again! She didn't want me to get mad at her and break up with her! Most importantly, she knew that junior year was when you had to start getting ready for college, and she didn't want to ruin my future!" screeched Troy, catching his breath.

Jack was speechless. "W-Well, I think it was very nice of her to think of your future before hers. I mean, here you are, basketball star, about to go off to college with a full scholarship. And here she is, sitting at home, taking care of a toddler just so you can get what you deserved. She gave up almost everything for you, and now she's living here with a daughter she's raising all by herself. She must be miserable, alone—"

"Dad!" Troy stopped his father from going on any further. "I think we get it,"

Jack coughed, "Right, sorry,"

"Well, I told him." Troy blurted out as he and Alexis returned to the apartment.

Gabriella was in the kitchen, fixing a broken drawer. "Really? How did it go?"

Troy shrugged, "It was okay. Except he kept telling me that Alexis was one day going to be the biggest name in women's basketball and she would carry on the Bolton basketball gene."

Gabriella chuckled, "My mom said the same thing. Except she told me that Alexis was going to be a successful scholar and would end up being the first female President of the United States."

"When my mom found out about Alexis she was overjoyed. She said she's always wanted to be a grandmother." said Troy.

Gabriella plastered a smile on her face, "I suppose every mother wants that, just like I do with Alexis."

"Look Mommy, I drew something!" Alexis giggled, showing her mom her scribbled drawing. It showed a little girl in between her parents. At the top, it read Mommy ♥ Daddy.

"Baby, it's very pretty." Gabriella commented.

"Me put on fridge!" the little girl squealed. Gabriella lifted her up so Alexis could plop a magnet over the picture and stick it on the refrigerator door. Alexis giggled excitedly and ran off to her room.

"Hey Troy, I put together a scrapbook for you so you can see some pictures of Alexis. It should be on the coffee table." Gabriella explained as she continued fixing the broken drawer.

Troy picked up the photo album and started flipping through it. There was a picture of Alexis when she was just born and a tired-looking Gabriella, fast asleep in a hospital bed. He continued scanning through when a photo of Gabriella trying to change a diaper came up. He couldn't help but laugh at the scene. He continued flipping the scrapbook. Photos of Alexis's first and second birthdays came up.

"Troy, my boss just called me in for a short shift; can you watch Alexis until I come back?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah sure," answered Troy, gently setting the scrapbook down. Gabriella smiled and left. Troy rummaged through the living room in boredom. After ten minutes of searching, he found a videotape labeled 'Alexis.' He popped it into the VCR and sat back in silence.

(IN THE VIDEO)

"Do you know who that is, Alexis?" Seventeen year old Gabriella asked her one year old daughter. She was holding her in one arm and pointing to a photograph with the other.

"Mush," Alexis blurted. She was just getting used to talking.

"That's your Daddy," Gabriella explained. Alexis giggled and rested her head on Gabriella's shoulder. "Daddy loves you very much," whispered Gabriella. "Even though he doesn't know about you," she sighed and placed Alexis in her crib. Gabriella walked over to the dresser where the photo was placed.

"I wish you were here, Troy," she muttered.

(END VIDEO)

"She did care about me," Troy smiled. As he was putting the video tape back, he found a manila colored envelope with Chad's address as the return address. "What's this?" he asked himself. He checked the date, it was sent last year. Inside was a videotape labeled 'Troy.'

"Chad sent Gabriella a video of me?" He plopped down on the sofa as the tape started.

(IN THE VIDEO)

"Come on Troy, you haven't had a date in over a year. Get back in the game!" advised Chad.

"Chad, I'm not in the mood for dating. Ever since Gabriella left I can't stop thinking about her. I really can't start seeing someone else right now," replied Troy.

"You really miss her, huh dude?" asked Chad.

"I think we've established that."

"See Gabriella, he does miss you." Chad said to the camera.

"What? You're recording?!" asked a startled Troy. "Give me the camera!" he yelled, running towards Chad.

"Uh-oh," Chad murmured, taking off.

(END VIDEO)

Troy chuckled, "I can't believe Chad actually sent that to her!"

"So, how was Alexis?" Gabriella asked, throwing her car keys into the key bowl.

Troy chuckled, "She was sleeping the whole time."

"So what did you do while I was gone?" she asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She walked over to the sofa and started pulling out the sofa bed.

"Uh…" Troy stammered. "You know…stuff,"

"Oh really?" Gabriella responded briskly, with a smirk on her face. "Like what?"

"Uh…" he stammered.

"Were you looking through my underwear?" Gabriella asked playfully.

"NO!!!!!" cried Troy. "Okay, just one pair, that's it, I swear!"

"Troy, I was joking." explained Gabriella.

"Oh, s-so was I!" he lied.

Gabriella giggled. Still the same Troy, she thought.

"Good night Alexis," Troy whispered, stroking Alexis's hair.

"Good night Daddy," she murmured back. She grabbed his nose. "I love you,"

Troy smiled, "I love you too."

"Night Mommy." Alexis cooed.

Gabriella chuckled, "Good night baby," she said, turning off the lights. Troy exited the room to go to his sofa bed while Gabriella quickly followed. "Hey Troy?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Don't tell Walter,"

"Don't tell Walter what?" he asked as Gabriella's lips pressed against his.